RNA virus discovery in insects

•Next generation sequencing technologies (NGS) have facilitated an exponential increase in the discovery of RNA virus sequences.•Appropriate experimentation and interpretation of biological implications are required to avoid erroneous conclusions regarding virus host range.•Newly discovered insect RNA viruses are described.•Optimized NGS data analysis to facilitate virus discovery is outlined.•Recommendations for naming of viruses are challenged.

The advent of next generation sequencing (NGS) technology has allowed for significant advances in insect RNA virus discovery, particularly for identification of covert viruses and for identification of previously undescribed virus groups. Recent research has revealed the complexity and diversity both of viral populations within an insect, and of different virus groups infecting insects. While appropriate verification of the ability of a given virus to infect a putative host is essential, this is frequently challenging for newly discovered viruses. In this chapter, we describe recently discovered RNA viruses of insects, optimization of NGS data analysis for virus discovery, and challenges associated with virus nomenclature.